Peso Penguin finger puppet

Toddlers are fickle things aren't they? You may remember how I was saying that pirates were the flavour of the month? Well, that was so September 2011. I mean, come on, we're in October now. October is all about the medics. If it's any indication of future career choice, then I'm all in favour... with the NHS looking in dire jeopardy, having a doctor in the family could be handy. (Do check out the 38 Degrees campaign to save the NHS!)

So, in a shocking bloodless coup, Kwazii's been relegated from pole-position and Peso Penguin is where it's at. I don't think I've a single limb that's gone un-bandaged in recent weeks. I'm a little concerned there's a touch of Munchausen by proxy going on, the way she's been inciting me to put my finger in her castanets (not a euphemism) and then shutting the b*ggers on my defenceless digit! "Does it hurt Mummy? Shall I bandage it?" Yes, and no. And no, I don't want to put my finger there again. Eejit that I was to do it the first time.

To make Peso, I stuck with my trusty hummus pot lid as the template for his head. Some of the process was replicated directly from the Kwazii finger puppet. The rest of the measurements are again estimated and adjusted in proportion to that. I don't know why he manages to come out looking a little sad, but I like to imagine it's professional sympathy for my multiple needle-pricks sustained during the creative process. This has not been a good week to be one of my fingers.

Take:
Some black felt
Smallish bit of white felt
Tiny bit of yellow felt
Some blue felt
Some stuffing (about an eggcup-full)
Cotton of appropriate colours
The all-important hummus pot lid

Draw round the hummus-pot lid on the black felt, and cut out a circle.
Use running stitch around the edge of the circle, draw together, stuff and then draw tighter. (Again, mine had a small gap in the centre where you can see the stuffing but it's not so far been a problem as it's hidden by the finger-tube.
Cut out a shape from white felt for Peso's face (sort of like the outline of a rounded capital B)
Cut out two black circles for eyes
Cut out a small yellow triangle for a beak
Stitch the eyes onto the white felt, using black thread around the edges, and then adding eye highlights in white thread.
Stitch the beak onto the white felt.
Stitch the white felt face onto the black head-ball.
Cut a rectangle out of the black felt, long enough to fit onto and around a finger.
Stitch rectangle into a tube, turn inside out and stitch top of tube to Peso head.
Cut out thin rectangle of white felt and stitch to front of tube, under Peso's face.
Cut a rectangle of blue felt. Stitch the top of the felt around the bottom of the Peso head, to cover the join between the tube and the head.
Cut a square of blue felt, and cut it in half.
Stitch the two short sides together, and turn inside out. Fold edge of triangle back on itself, to form hat.
Stitch hat onto head.
And we're done. Seeing as we have two Octonauts now, I may as well attempt Captain Barnacles in the near future...